With Mrs Joan Braid
At 12.50 pm on the 25th of October 1944 a seven year old girl had called home for lunch at Segars Farm in Formby.
Whilst speaking to her father on the step of the cottage, an American B24 Liberator was seen to be approaching at a low level from the north-west in the direction of the control tower of the air base. It circled round out to sea and then made a second approach. Unfortunately, still on a slightly incorrect course, making a rapid correction the plane banked, when its starboard wing hit a field boundary causing the plane to cartwheel, crash and catch fire.
Twenty veterans of the 446 Bomber group were immediately killed or badly wounded. They were on their way to the Palace Hotel in Birkdale for R & R following the completion of their missions.
The seven year old girl was Joan Braid. Today in her 80’s Joan recalls the event as if it had happened just yesterday. It has become Joan’s mission in life to tell this story and to have some form of memorial to remember those who lost their lives on B24 ‘Ridge Runner’ 80 years ago.
